The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program under the direction of the inventor, Jean Renault, a citizen of France. ‘Renact’ was discovered as a seedling, resulting from an open pollination of the seed parent variety Actinidia deliciosa ‘Hayward’ unpatented. The pollen parent is unknown. ‘Renact’ was discovered at a commercial nursery in 1995, located in Gorron, France.
The new variety was observed for several years, and first propagated by semi-hardwood cuttings in 2005, at a commercial nursery in Gorron, France. Subsequent evaluations of the variety have shown the characteristics to be true to type.